The white painted Nerja sign is at the western entrance to the town, on the Torrox-Nerja road. Behind the sign are the arches and statue unveiled on 26th January 1986, to mark Spain’s entry into the European Economic Community (now the EU).
The statue is curiously named El Rapto de Europa or Europa’s Kidnapping – Europa in this case is the woman from Greek mythology who was kidnapped by the god Zeus.
Guests at the inauguration act included representatives from the embassies of the then EEC in Madrid. The flag of the EEC was raised by the president of the news agency EFE Ricardo Utrilla Carlón at the invitation of the mayor, Antonio Villasclaras Rosas.
The sculpture is by the Andalucian artist Aurelio Teno Teno. It is a very peculiar work, fitting into the figurative expressionist style associated with this sculptor, which represents a bull (Zeus) which instead of kidnapping Europa (represented by an Andalucian woman in a fighting stance) actually saves her, in this way representing the view of the sculptor of the situation at that time.
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